The Second Coming
by Josh SB
Summary: Of all the Shatterdomes only the Changdu base managed to repel the rogue drones' assault. But even when the dust settled and the last of the drones was thrown down the real threat was yet to come. They had trained to perfection, yet they would not be walking their Jaegers away from the real battle. This story features blockbuster action with a touch of emotion. Language and violenc
1. Chapter 1

"Spartan Avenger, heading for the rendezvous." Ranger Luke Cast's voice somehow managed to convey the impression of boredom mixed with his usual soldierlike alertness.

"Go ahead, Spartan." Jackson Martin, the senior Ranger in command of the exercise, replied. "We're finishing up on a few checks. See you in a bit."

"You sure its just checks you're doing?" Luke teased.

"What else would we be doing?" Jack's co-pilot Jillian Lang replied.

"Having a steamy make-out in that stuffy conn-pod." Luke said.

"Yeah, while sweating buckets in these full-body suits." Jack scoffed. "If I really wanted to I'd find a better place."

"You're full of shit, Luke." Jill rolled her eyes.

Jack and Jill shared a glance. Both shook their heads.

"Arsenal Fury, ready for the surf." a second, female Ranger's voice came over the shared link. "Permission to deploy."

"Arsenal, permission granted." Jack wondered if it had been Angela, or her twin sister Angeline, speaking. He could never tell who was who. They were exactly alike.

Warning alarms blared as the hydraulic platform at the edge of the tarmac began to sink, lowering Arsenal Fury into the sea. Water flowed over the Jaeger's feet, frothing slightly as it slowly rose to its knees.

"Titan Steel, heading out." This time it was Kara Tiara, the newly-appointed pilot of Titan Steel, speaking. "Mind our feet."

The heavily-reinforced ground shook as the pure-gold Jaeger strode out of the hangar. Titan look down as it walked, checking the ground in case some fool had left a vehicle on the tarmac, but the Chingdu shatterdome crew was well-drilled and the ground was bare.

"Still don't see the point of this exercise," Megan, Kara's co-pilot and sister, spoke. "Now that _those_ things are here, we hardly need to lift a finger anymore."

'Those things' referred to the ten Shao Industries drones that had arrived earlier in the day. The drones stood to the right of the Jaeger hangar in two neat ranks of four and the Tiara sisters turned to glare at them as they passed. Megan gave them the finger.

"Some damn machines aren't going to replace me," she spat.

"They're going to put me out of work, that's what they'll do." Luke was equally resentful. "I've got two kids and a wife to feed. What'll I do, fishing?"

"What I _really_ want is a kaiju," Megan declared.

"You're mad." Angela, or maybe it was Angeline, replied. "Kaijus would tear us apart."

"Not a whole army of them," Megan said. "Just three or four. There are seven Jaegers in this Shatterdome. We could handle that, easy."

"You don't know what you're saying." Angela/Angeline insisted. "Those things decimated every Jaeger that stood against them."

"We've had ten years to upgrade our technology," Megan said confidently.

"So have they." Angel, Angela and Angeline's twin brother, spoke for the first time since they'd started conversing on the shared link.

"CO to HQ, weather report." Jack said.

"Weather's fine, Jack," Headquarters replied. "Good as it gets."

"Thunderbolt Leaguer moving out then," Jack said. "Clear the floor."

More alarms wailed to life as the navy-blue Jaeger stepped out of its docking bay.

The feed crackled to life. "Drones in the field are malfunctioning!" The voice belonged to Li Wen Shao, the CEO of Shao Industries and in-charge of the drones' deployment. "Stop the ones coming in from deploying!" She sounded panicked.

"Stupid drones," Luke said scornfully. "Can't even stand still without something going wrong."

"Uh, Jack?" Kara interrupted. "Something's _really_ wrong."

"Looks like we might not be headed for an early retirement after all." Jack mused.

Thunderbolt Leaguer stepped through the hangar's giant doorway in time to see oversized claws sprout from the drones' hands.

"Holy shit!" Kara backed her Jaeger an involuntary step backwards.

"What's going on?" Megan roared.

Spikes jutted from the drones' backs as they shuddered. Jack's eyes widened as their missile launchers popped open. In dawning horror, he realised the full fury of Shao Industries' bleeding-edge weapons were about to be unleashed on the entire Shatterdome.

"Drones are hostile! Take them down!"

A wave of ballistics arced out from the massed drones. Spartan Avenger reeled backwards as a cannon shell hit the side of its head, blowing a gaping hole in the corner of the visor. The rust-red Jaeger stumbled, holding its massive hands in front of its face. A half-dozen missiles exploded on its armoured chest, knocking it backwards into the sea. Talia screamed as water flooded into the conn-pod.

Titan Steel, too big and too close to dodge the oncoming salvo, slammed its forearms together in front of its face and hunched down into a boxing stance. The golden Jaeger shuddered as a dozen missiles struck, but stood its ground. The Tiara sisters gritted their teeth and marched forward, then their tenacity turned to alarm as more missiles struck Titan's right knee. Metal crumpled and groaned as Titan Steel went down hard, sticking a hand out to avoid falling flat.

"All Jaegers deploy!" Jack yelled in panic. "Engage! Engage!"

"Fire!" Arsenal Fury had turned back for the base the moment it'd received Shao's warning and now trained its array of weapons on the cluster of drones. It carried four battleship-sized cannons on its forearms and sixteen missiles on its shoulders and the sides of its ribs. Aptly named, it's British creators had designed it to blast Kaiju into submission. It would take only moments to batter the drones flat.

Angel's finger tightened on the trigger. The first shot caught a drone square in the centre of its chest, blowing a gaping hole into its pristine white chestplate. The second blew its head up in an orange fireball.

"Firing missiles." he said calmly.

But the drones fired first. Cannon shells struck the large missile pods on Arsenal's shoulders. The Jaegers had never been designed for combat against other machines and the missile pods exploded as the shells hit. All the ammunition on Arsenal Fury was detonated by the explosion and Jack gaped in horror as the entire Jaeger disappeared in a massive conflagration.

The remaining seven drones spread out into a line and advanced across the tarmac. A few looked at Titan Steel, trying to judge if the fallen Jaeger posed any more of a threat.

The Tiara sisters made the decision for them. Titan Steel surged upwards, blades sliding out from the front of its forearms.

"Damn drone dipshit!" Megan roared.

Three drones broke into a run towards the lone Jaeger. Thunderbolt Leaguer started forward in support, but two other drones had been eyeing the hangar entrance and spotted the movement instantly. Jack and Jill swore collectively as more cannon shells and missiles struck all around them, forcing them back into the giant doorway.

"Fire back!" Jack shouted.

"We're dead if one of those hits our missile pods!" Jill shouted back. Neither of them needed to speak to communicate due to their neural connection, but the adrenalin and chaos was shredding their nerves.

Out on the tarmac Titan Steel dropped into a firing position and opened its missile pods. Kara screamed expletives as she swept the targeting dot in an arc and pulled the trigger. A dozen missiles blazed out at once and a line explosions bloomed amidst the stumbling line of drones.

There was no time to aim properly, but Kara launched missiles at every angle with the intention of hitting as many as she could. The tactic worked, although none of the drones were disabled, but in such a desperate situation they needed to push the drones back just to gain space to breathe.

Two of the drones stumbled onto the hydraulic platforms at the water's edge. Before they could regain their balance the sea erupted. Spartan Avenger leaped out in an explosion of saltwater, a massive sword in its hands. Talia and Luke howled as they stabbed the first drone so hard that the blade sank all the way to the hilt in the back of its neck. The second drone wheeled around as Spartan tried to tug the blade free, found it stuck, so abandoned the attempt and shouldered the short-circuiting drone aside.

Spartan pulled a long dagger from its hip with its left hand and charged. The second drone tried to take aim with its arm-mounted cannon, but Spartan knocked its arm aside and stabbed it in the gap between its head and body. Kaiju blood sprayed ten metres into the air as the damaged drone reeled away. Spartan cocked its fist and punched it in the face, then yanked the dagger out and buried it under the drone's chin. The dying drone fell like a tree, limbs twitching.

More drones moved to surround the Jaeger. The first tried to grab Spartan's neck from behind and Spartan elbowed it in the face, then drove its arm forward to send another staggering backwards with a dented faceplate. Spartan Avenger was the strongest Jaeger in the Mark V fleet and a third drone went airborne as Spartan deployed its foot lock and kicked it in the chest.

But victory was short-lived. The first drone opened fire from behind, hitting Spartan in the back of the knee. The big Jaeger fell and the second drone kneed it in the face, sending Talia and Luke flying across the conn-pod and into the thick armour behind. By some miracle the piloting machinery remained intact, but they had been dazed by the massive impact and could only raise their hands in front of their faces as all three drones took aim from point-blank range.

Metal crumpled and dented. Spartan's hands were shredded by the repeated cannon shots. The thick armour protecting the back of its head gave way, then the Jaeger fell forward as the circuits in its neck were blown apart. Still Talia and Luke lived, trying to drag the Jaeger upright on its elbows, then a drone stamped on its head, crushing the conn-pod flat. Spartan Avenger twitched a final time and was still.

"SPARTAN!" Jack and Jill, pinned down by drone fire, could only watch as their comrades were annihilated.

"Tear off the missile pods!" Jack yelled.

"We need those shots!" Jill argued.

"Damn it!" Jack screamed. "Where the _fuck_ are the other pilots?!"

Out on the tarmac Titan Steel was outnumbered three to one, but the Tiara sisters had grown up on the streets and feared no one. While the drones regained their footing after Titan's missile strikes they charged. The tarmac shook as Titan activated the thrusters on its back and shoulder-barged the middle drone, sending it crashing backwards like a bowling pin. The drone flailed and grabbed Titan, pulling it down with it. A massive claw smashed through the Jaeger's visor but missed the two pilots. Titan ignored the threat, heaved itself upwards and stabbed down blindly with its right arm, spearing its forearm blade into the drone's neck and severing the drone's head from the rest of its body.

Titan Steel shoulder-rolled forward and got to its feet. The remaining two drones turned around and started towards it. Titan stormed forward and the three giant machines clashed in the middle of the landing pads.

Titan darted to the right, but the drones had anticipated the move and a clawed arm swung out. Titan blocked the swing with its right forearm. A shock ran up both mechanical limbs as the power of two sets of hydraulics met full force. Titan swung its left elbow forward, smashing the drone in the face, tucked its fist in towards the chest, and hacked down with the forearm blade as the drone stumbled back. Kaiju blood spurted and the drone's head fell from its neck.

The second drone took aim and fired. The cannon shell blew a hole in the side of Titan's head, knocking it to the side. Before the drone could fire again Kara and Megan bobbed down, surging under the drone's raised arms, and put all their weight into a massive bladed uppercut. The drone's neck gave way in an explosion of kaiju blood, its head now impaled on the tip of Titan Steel's right forearm blade.

The three drones at the edge of the tarmac, having finished off Spartan Avenger, all opened fire. Titan Steel half-turned towards them and a missile struck the damaged side of its head. The entire conn-pod disappeared in a ball of flames.

"NO!" Jack and Jill roared.

The three drones, switched their aim to the hangar, forcing Thunderbolt back. A stream of missiles and cannon shells came through the open doorway, hitting catwalks, hydraulic arms and the Mark V Jaeger Saber Orion. Several thousand tons of machinery and debris crashed to the ground. Saber Orion toppled sideways, hit the side of its docking bay and slid to the ground with a horrible wrenching, screeching noise.

"Close the doors!" Jack ordered.

The drones raced forward as the doors began to shut. The first two got their hands between the doors before they could close, but in their haste to get in they got too close to where Thunderbolt Leaguer lurked behind the left door. The first drone shouldered into the gap and Thunderbolt stabbed it in the shoulder. Metal shuddered and gave way as Thunderbolt twisted the blade in the wound. The drone reeled back out, its severed arm falling to the ground with an earth-shaking _THUD._ Thunderbolt tried to follow up, but cannon shells exploded against its chest, forcing it back.

The closing mechanism had not been designed for such a strain and gave way under the drones' assault. Thunderbolt Leaguer backed away as five drones came through the doors, trying to put enough space between them to fire its missiles, but the drones marched forward, relentlessly closing it down. They strode past Midnight Zeus, another Jaeger still in its bay, and were so intent on their pursuit of Thunderbolt that they did not see it turn its head to follow their movement.

Midnight lunged out of its docking bay and grabbed the nearest drone by the thick armour plate behind its head, yanking it backwards. The drone flailed for balance as it stumbled, then Midnight pointed its arm-mounted cannon at the side of the drone's head and fired, blowing its brains out.

The second drone turned towards the new combatant and Midnight shot it square in the chest. The drone stumbled. Thunderbolt Leaguer advanced and kicked it in the side. The drone regained its footing and swung a clawed arm. Thunderbolt ducked under the arm and stabbed it in a gap between its torso armour, then surged upwards and plunged its other blade into the drones's neck. Jack and Jill screamed in rage as they twisted the blade, popping the drone's severed head off its neck like a beer bottle cap.

A flicker of movement registered in their peripheral vision. Thunderbolt's head snapped upwards. "Behind you!" Jack yelled. The last drone barged into Thunderbolt before they could say anything else.

The one-armed drone had snuck up behind Midnight Zeus. Midnight ducked and the cannon shot intended for its head whizzed past, striking Nova Artemys, the last Jaeger whose pilots had yet to materialise.

Midnight straightened and launched a powerful back kick that knocked the one-armed drone backwards. The hangar was crowded with giant robots and the drones seemed unsure of how to fight in such confined quarters.

Two wolverine-like blades snapped out on either side of Midnight's forearms. Another drone tried to claw Midnight's visor and Midnight grabbed its arm, sliced it off at the elbow, then back-slashed the drone away and stabbed it in the centre of its head.

The one-armed drone fired again, knocking Midnight off-balance. Midnight planted its feet and returned fire. With only one arm the drone could not match Midnight's firepower. The drone backed away as Midnight continued to shoot, its pristine white armour now riddled with ragged holes.

Thunderbolt Leaguer locked its stance, activated its back thrusters and heaved the last drone back. The drone raised an arm and Thunderbolt kicked it backwards. Thunderbolt started forward but the drone opened fire, forcing Thunderbolt back, its hands raised to protect the vulnerable conn-pod. There was no space to dodge and Jack and Jill screamed as cannon shells chewed Thunderbolt's shoulder joint to scrap metal.

"Move aside!" a new voice shouted.

Jack and Jill obeyed automatically. The drone followed Thunderbolt's movement, a mistake it would not live to correct.

Nova Artemys, piloted at last, surged past the retreating Thunderbolt, forearm blades out. The orange Jaeger had been built for maximum agility and shoulder-rolled forward as the drone tried to switch its aim, coming up with its face level with the drone's waist before the drone could react.

The first blade went into the narrow gap between the drone's thigh and crotch armour. The drone tried to move back, but the leg joint had been immobilised and it lost its balance instead. Nova's second blade plunged into the drone's torso with enough force to knock the flailing drone over, snapping one of Nova's blades in the process. Nova got on top and disabled it with a single vicious stab to the neck, then pulled the blade free and dived out of the way as the one-armed drone tried to shoot it. The one-armed drone tried to follow Nova's movement, but was hopelessly outmatched now. Midnight Zeus fired, knocking it off-balance as Nova broke into a sprint. The drone righted itself and Nova wedged its fingers into its high collar, leaped to its side and stabbed it in the side of the neck. Nova landed behind the drone, which toppled to the ground with a last, earth-shaking _THUD._

The Chingdu Shatterdome fell silent apart from the crackling of flames. Jack and Jill slumped in their conn-pod harnesses, suddenly drained.

"What happened?" Zoe and Diana Sharpe, the pilots of Nova Artemys, spoke at the same time.

Nobody answered.

"Jack?" Ashley Summers, the pilot of Midnight Zeus, prompted.

"I don't know!" Jack shouted in frustration. "HQ said nothing, the Marshal said nothing. I don't know!"

A wave of fury laced with grief slammed into Jill's mind from the neural connection, making her wince. "No one expects you to," she said gently.

"They must have been caught off-guard as well," Ashley reasoned. "Otherwise they'd have warned us."

"Oh, shit," Diana realised. "If there were drones deployed to _all_ the Shatterdomes…"

"And they didn't know either," Zoe's eyes widened as the horrible truth sank in.

"Then they've been completely wiped out." Ashley concluded.

"We got lucky." Jack said bitterly. "We were all geared up for the exercise." He thought of Talia and Luke, of Kara and Megan, the Angel triplets, and a wave of fury overcame him. "Bastards!" He delivered a vicious kick to the nearest drone. "Bastards!" he screamed, kicking it again.

Jill tried to hold him back, fighting to control her own Leaguer shuddered from head to toe at the conflicting wills. Pain spiked in the two pilots' heads and they cried out.

"Stop," Jill gasped. "Stop."

Jack let out a yell of fury that half-turned into a sob. "Bastards." The anger drained from him, leaving an immense sense of grief. His head dropped to his chest. "Damned drones." he whispered.

The communications link crackled to life. "Attention Chingdu Shatterdome. Is anyone there?"

Jack lifted his head.

"This is Senior Ranger Martin. What is it?"

"Be advised. You have a category-five kaiju headed your way."

"Pardon me?" Jack could not comprehend the information. "A kaiju?"

"Where did it come from?" Jill asked, mystified.

"Those damned drones opened breaches across the Pacific Rim." Jack realised the voice belonged to Ranger Lambert of the Hong Kong Shatterdome. "Most were closed in time, but three kaiju managed to get through. The biggest one's currently headed straight towards you."

Jack turned pale as the information sank in. "Holy shit."

"Do you have any Jaegers operational?" Ranger Lambert asked.

"Yes." Jack swept his gaze around the hangar. Three. No, four," he amended as he caught sight of Saber Orion, still slumped on the ground but evidently undamaged.

"Four?" Ranger Lambert sounded surprised. "You've been lucky. Every other Shatterdome has been decimated."

 _Seven pilots killed,_ Jack thought bitterly. _Three Jaegers destroyed. Yeah, we're lucky._

"You need to mobilise everyone you can," Ranger Lambert said. "Intercept that kaiju straight away."

"Roger that, Ranger Lambert." Jill responded. As if they needed to be told what to do with kaiju.

"He treats us like kids," Ashley snorted.

"Oh, there's one other thing you need to know." It was Lambert again. Ashley covered her mouth, hoping he hadn't heard her, and Midnight Zeus almost smacked itself in the face.

"This kaiju," Lambert told them. "It's codenamed Raijin."


	2. Chapter 2

Hallie and Annie had never been stars at anything. They put in work at school and achieved decent results. They were average in sports, managing to do ok most of the time. Nothing special.

Until the day they'd gone for the PPDC Jaeger Pilot screening program when they were thirteen.

"Twins," The PPDC official had said upon seeing them, about as enthusiastic as a potted plant. "Well, let's see if your brains are as alike as you look."

The neural connection helmet was made of worn, faded plastic, nothing like the impressive full-face visors they'd seen Jaeger pilots wear on TV. It could have been mistaken for a bicycle helmet if not for the thick cord attached to the back of it and the electrodes and circuits lining the inside. The twins put it on and half-gagged. The helmet smelled like a hundred heads of hair that hadn't been washed for a year, probably because that's what their previous occupants had been. The twins shuddered at the thought of putting something like that on their heads, but before they could ponder the thought for long the PPDC official activated the connection and their minds were sucked into each others'.

"Well, well, well." the official's eyebrows rose slightly. "You're compatible, all right."

Later on they'd found out that their brains were 91% alike, a new record. They also found out that the helmets had lice.

Letters were received, forms were filled, and before they knew it they were arriving at the Chingdu Shatterdome to be enrolled into the PPDC Jaeger Pilot Cadet Program, scratching their heads because the anti-lice shampoo they'd bought had been fake goods.

Training had been tough but manageable. None of the cadets were natural athletes, but after years of training they'd gotten used to it and toughened up. It wasn't that bad. They made friends with the other cadets and a few of the rangers. The instructors, while strict, were fair. They got a rush every time they saw the massive Jaegers in their bays and imagined what it would be like to one day pilot one of them. Their parents were immensely proud of their soon-to-be-rangers daughters.

But that had been six years ago. Hallie and Annie became certified pilots, but never rangers because there weren't enough Jaegers for them to be assigned one. All of the other cadets from their cohort had their own Jaegers. The two sisters waited and waited, watching their friends excel while the new batch of cadets cast doubtful glances at them behind their back, wondering if they, too would be left on the shelf like Hallie and Annie. For a while, they wondered if they would have been better off being normal kids.

Then the drones had gone wild and almost destroyed the entire Shatterdome. The Jaegers that Hallie and Annie thought invincible were almost defeated. Hallie and Annie had watched horrified and wide-eyed from their room window overlooking the tarmac as three Jaegers were torn apart by the drones. A fear they had never known crept into their chests as they saw the drones force the hangar doors open. Their hands instinctively reached for the others' as they heard the discharge of cannons, feeling the massive impacts quiver through the floor. The relief when Thunderbolt Leaguer emerged from the hangar, one arm hanging uselessly from a mangled shoulder, brought tears to their eyes. It was over.

Then the announcement came through the emergency broadcast system. "All pilots, report to the tarmac immediately. This is a code-one emergency. I repeat, this is a code-one emergency. All pilots report to the tarmac immediately. Do not delay."

Confused, Hallie and Annie obeyed protocol, heading out the door without even pulling on proper shoes. It was only when they arrived after picking their way through the wreckage of Titan Steel that they realised they were in their pyjamas.

"Oops," Hallie muttered as she glanced down at herself. Too late now.

Their phones had been ringing since the attack had stopped, but both of them were in their rooms plugged into their chargers. After a while whoever was calling seemed to realise this.

"Hello, ladies," Senior Ranger Jackson Martin's voice boomed from Thunderbolt Leaguer's loudspeaker. "This is the day you've been training for."

The girls' hearts skipped a beat.

"There is a category five kaiju headed our way. All the other pilots are dead, leaving Saber Orion unmanned, and we'd prefer to have all the help we can get."

Hallie and Annie gaped at the navy-blue Jaeger. A category five? Where had _that_ come from?

Midnight Zeus came over, shuffling gingerly across the tarmac in an effort to reduce the ground shaking. "Climb on." Midnight stooped to a crouch and held out a hand, palm out. "Saber Orion's dock is trashed. We'll drop you onto the head."

Apprehension mixed with excitement made the girls light-headed as they pulled themselves up. Their full-body drift suits had been fetched from the storage room. A prep team fixed them up while Jackson Martin gave them a briefing, using Thunderbolt Leaguer's loudspeaker to blast sound through a long corridor leading to the hangar because the drones had destroyed all the power generators.

"Raijin has got massive armour plating around its neck so don't attack it there. Since there's four of us we plan to surround it, then use Midnight's cannons to shoot it down. These things have shown that they're fairly intelligent so I don't want to take any chances. What we need is someone to draw its attention while Midnight circles around, but whoever it is has to stay out of arms reach. That thing's claws could wrap around our waists. I don't want to find out what else they can do." Thunderbolt's powerful speakers filled the entire hangar.

"Roger that," Hallie said into her helmet's comlink.

"Oh no," Annie gasped. "I need to pee."

"Me too," Hallie realised.

"It'll take five minutes just to undo your suits," a technician complained.

"There's no time," Jackson paused for a moment. "You'll have to piss your pants in the conn-pod."

"You're joking," Annie said in disbelief.

"I'm not," Jackson snapped. "If we wait any longer that kaiju could pass by us completely. I'm not racing that thing to Tokyo with only one arm. We'd be paddling like dogs. That thing's made for the sea."

"It isn't ideal," Jill agreed. "But there's no other option."

" _Move,_ " Jackson ordered.

Hallie and Annie gave each other a glance. Hallie shrugged and they walked out the door onto a steel catwalk overlooking Thunderbolt's bay. Midnight Zeus was waiting for them with its palm out. They climbed in and Midnight turned around, heading across the hangar towards the slumped Saber Orion.

"In you go." Midnight set them down level with the top of Saber's head. Hallie and Annie scrambled off and unscrewed the heavy emergency access hatch. They climbed the few rungs, then let go and dropped to the floor. The whole Jaeger was slanting sideways and they skidded slightly as they landed, then crossed the room to flip the power switch.

"Saber Orion, powering up." Hallie said once she'd activated the communications channel.

Despite the seriousness of the situation and their aching bladders they felt a frission of excitement as they slipped into the piloting harnesses. They had done this countless times before in the training room with equipment identical to today, but this felt different. Today they were Rangers, piloting a Jaeger, their dream come true.

"Saber Orion heading out," Annie reported. "Beacon is on."

Metal groaned as the Jaeger got to its feet. Ten thousand tons of metal muscle responded to their will. Hallie and Annie forgot their bladders. Their hearts soared.

"How do we do this?" Hallie asked.

Their minds were linked via the neural connection and Annie knew exactly what she meant.

"I don't know," Annie fought the urge to cross her legs together. Every news organisation had their best reporters hovering above them on helicopters. It would be the ultimate humiliation if they footage of Saber Orion squirming like it needed the toilet was broadcast all over the world.

"I guess we just do." Annie took a deep breath, knowing they couldn't hold it for much longer. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Hallie groaned. "I can't believe we're doing this."

"On three," Annie took a deep breath and tried to empty her mind. "One, two-"

"Hallie, Annie," Ranger Jackson's voice startled them out of their concentration. Hallie moaned as her bladder tightened unconsciously in response.

"We hear you," Annie hastily responded, hoping he hadn't heard Hallie moan. "What's up?"

"This is a private channel," Jackson said. "The others can't hear us."

Hallie and Annie gave each other a glance.

"Listen," Jackson didn't sound like his usual measured self. "You're both young. This is your first time in combat. No one will blame you if something goes wrong."

"We won't let you down," Hallie promised.

"I know you won't." Jackson agreed. "But if it comes to choosing between survival and killing that kaiju I want you to bail."

Hallie and Annie gaped at his words.

"Too many people have died today. If things go south and we lose, the PPDC needs pilots who have faced kaiju before. Without that the new pilots will have nothing to place their confidence in. Kaiju can tear you apart if you give them even a split-second hesitation. This can easily happen in combat if you're nervous."

"But-" Annie protested.

"Take that as an order, if you find it hard. I know it goes against your grain, but it probably won't come to that. We're too strong." He paused. "Also, I think you might want to drop the decency and wet yourself."

Hallie and Annie's jaws dropped. "How d'you know-"

"You're crossing your legs."

Hallie's eyes widened as she realised they'd lost their concentration during the conversation. Her face burned.

"Oh, no."

"Just go. The kaiju's one mile out. I don't want to go into battle alongside uncomfortable pilots."

Jackson hung up, leaving an embarrassed silence inside the conn-pod. Hallie planted her legs firmly, willing herself to be still.

"This is _so_ embarrasing," Annie moaned.

"We're doing it," Hallie growled. "Right now."

"There it is." Jackson said calmly.

The four Jaegers were several miles off the southern tip of Japan, holding position in a relatively shallow stretch of sea. The water came up to their waists, giving them a clear view of Raijin's top half as it waded towards them.

"Midnight Zeus, on point." Jackson was running through the plan one last time. Nova Artemis, prepare to provide close support. Saber Orion, you come in from the left. Try to circle round if you can. I'll take the right. Use your thrusters if you get into deeper water and can't move fast enough."

"Roger that," Hallie said, trying to ignore the wet sensation around her toes.

Jackson gave Jill a glance. She knew what he was thinking and nodded.

 _It'll hurt,_ Jackson told her via their neural connection.

 _Tell me something I don't know_ , Jill replied. _Go ahead._

Thunderbolt Leaguer reached up with its right arm to grab its upper left. The shoulder joint had been damaged beyond use, and neither of them saw any point of fighting with one arm dangling uselessly.

Jack and Jill gave a violent tug. Thunderbolt's arm came off at the shoulder, bits of metal falling from the destroyed joint into the ocean. Jack and Jill doubled over, screaming. The pain was worse than they had imagined.

"Hurts," Jack whimpered.

Jill didn't respond. Her pale, perfect complexion had turned beet-red.

"Ugh." They straightened after a minute. "Back in business." Jack searched for Raijin briefly and almost recoiled when he realised how close the kaiju was.

"Target's in range," Jill slammed buttons in her conn-pod. "Light it up!" The pods on Thunderbolt Leaguer's shoulders opened and four missiles streaked towards the category five kaiju.

"Fire!" Midnight Zeus trained its cannons on Raijin and pulled the trigger. Beside it Nova Artemis, who wasn't armed with ballistics, deployed its forearm blade and cracked its neck, while further to its left Saber Orion fired two missiles of its own.

The large armour plates around Raijin's neck slammed together, forming a massive diamond-shaped shield in the centre of its body. The salvo struck the armour plates in a series of deafening blasts, then the smoke and fire cleared to reveal the kaiju still standing.

"How did-" Ashley gaped in disbelief.

"Not even a scratch!" Jill gasped.

"Damn it!" Jackson barked.

The kaiju surged forward. Midnight Zeus fired again and again, but all the shots were absorbed by Raijin's armour plates.

"This isn't working," Ashley's co-pilot, her younger sister Maddie, said nervously.

"Jackson?" Ashley said.

"Screw it." Thunderbolt Leaguer raised Spartan Avenger's long sword that they'd pulled from the remains of a drone. "It's four against one. Surround it and hack it to bits."

The Jaegers sprung into action. Midnight Zeus deployed its claws and dropped into a fighting stance as Raijin closed in. Ashley activated the back thrusters, aiming to jump over the kaiju, but as Midnight leaped into the air Raijin butted it with its armour plates, sending the jet-black Jaeger flying backwards.

Nova Artemis and Saber Orion charged in from the left, the latter brandishing Spartan Avenger's big dagger in its bladeless hand, but both Jaegers were diminutive and had never been designed to go toe-to-toe with kaiju. Raijin backhanded Nova Artemis so had that it went airborne. Saber Orion darted in and raised its swords to strike, but Raijin's large tail erupted from the water, striking the Jaeger and sending it careening backwards.

"Shit!" Hallie screamed. Her boots squelched as she stumbled and fell.

"Yaaaaaaah!" Thunderbolt Leaguer stormed forward and brought down the sword with all its strength. The blade should have carved Raijin open like a ham, except that it turned its head at the last second, opened its armour plates, and the sword deflected off the edge of its armour.

"Back!" Jack yelped, seeing Raijin's massive claws unfurl.

Thunderbolt darted backwards, narrowly avoiding a massive swipe. Thunderbolt jabbed with the sword and this time the tip of the blade sliced into Raijin's arm.

The kaiju bellowed in rage. Its jagged tail came out of the darkness, smashing into Thunderbolt's midsection and sending it sprawling.

With only one arm Thunderbolt couldn't regain its footing fast enough and both pilots screamed as Raijin stamped on the back of Thunderbolt's ankle and put all its weight down. The joint buckled and tore under the massive weight. Thunderbolt thrashed and bucked, trying to break free. Raijin reached down, grabbed Thunderbolt's head in its giant grip and pulled hard.

Armour crumpled and came away in Raijin's grip, but the helmet's unique design had saved its pilots' lives. The outer armour was shaped like a tricorne hat and, while hard, came off easily, leaving the conn-pod intact within a secondary layer of armour. Jack and Jill gasped as their heads snapped back, then jolted back down as the outer layer gave way.

"We need backup, _now!"_ Jill yelled.

Saber Orion rose, started towards the kaiju, then stopped.

"We've dropped our swords," Hallie realised.

"Shit!" Annie swore. The Jaeger bent down and plunged its hands into the water.

Midnight Zeus and Nova Artemys started towards it. Raijin turned to face them, sensing their approach.

"Take point," Diana Sharpe shouted. "We'll go round."

Midnight lunged, but its claw blades scraped uselessly against the closed plates of Raijin's armour. The kaiju slashed upwards, impaling Midnight under the armpit with its middle claw as the Jaeger tried to retreat. Ashley and Maddie howled as Raijin twisted the claw and pulled, ripping the arm off at the joint. Midnight opened fire with its remaining arm, trying to get its cannon muzzles around the armour plates, but Raijin grabbed the arm, twisting it away, and pulled the Jaeger forward. The kaiju's armour plates separated and rows of teeth were the last thing Ashley and Maddie saw before Raijin clamped its mouth around Midnight's head.

"Eject!" The piloting harnesses retracted into the ceiling, bearing the two terrified pilots into their eject pods. Raijin pulled Midnight's head off its neck, but the airtight capsules shot out of the back of the conn-pod a split second before Raijin tossed it aside and bellowed in pain.

Nova Artemys had thrown Spartan Avenger's massive dagger into Raijin's back with deadly accuracy and now charged forward, its remaining forearm blade shining in the searchlights of the circling helicopters. Raijin's armour plates slammed shut once more, but Diana and Zoe got a hand around the top rim of the big plates and vaulted up, aiming to stab Raijin in the back of the neck. Raijin jerked up, spoiling their balance, but their blade still managed to glance off its back.

Raijin lunged forward and tilted its armour plates downwards, slamming Nova into the sea. The Sharpe sisters lost their grip as seawater filled their vision, then they gasped as Raijin's giant foot slammed down onto Nova's chest. Nova stabbed Raijin in the leg. The big kaiju bellowed but didn't let up.

Blinded by the churning water, neither Diana nor Zoe saw Raijin plunge it's oversized hands into the water.

A massive claw smashed through the visor in an explosion of water, hitting Zoe square in the stomach. The force of the kaiju's thrust tore Zoe's entire conn-pod body harness out of its ceiling attachments. Zoe screamed as she was thrown across the conn-pod, then Raijin's claw swept across to claw Diana's harness out. Freezing seawater blasted Zoe's visor, but she could still see as Diana's body was caught between the edge of Nova's visor and Raijin's claw as the kaiju withdrew its hand. Diana snapped in half like a rag doll and Zoe sobbed helplessly, pinned back by the water and dazed from being flung across the room. Raijin's other hand closed around the conn-pod, crushing it like a tin can.

"Nova's gone," Hallie gasped.

" _Where_ are those swords?" Annie growled. Saber Orion had been scouring the seabed to no avail. The dark water reduced visibility to zero, making them fumble around like a blind man.

"Saber, get back here." Jackson ordered.

"We're useless without the swords," Hallie protested.

"Take this one." Thunderbolt Leaguer had dragged itself to its feet for a final stand. Jack and Jill threw Spartan Avenger's long sword towards Saber Orion. "Stab it in the back while we distract it."

"You can't possibly-" Hallie began.

"Roger." Annie knew there was no time for debate.

"They won't survive!" Hallie protested. "With only one arm-"

"They'll do what they have to," Annie shook her head. "So will we."

Saber Orion caught the sword, levelled it. Raijin turned towards them and roared.

Thunderbolt Leaguer activated its foghorn. The challenge blasted over the choppy water as it started to drag itself forward, trying to get the kaiju's attention. Raijin half-turned to eye the one-armed Jaeger, then, almost contemptuously, swatted it with its tail, sending it staggering. Thunderbolt's broken ankle buckled and it collapsed sideways.

"Thrusters!" Jackson shouted.

Jill slammed buttons frantically. Thunderbolt's thruster on the right side of its ribs roared to life, trying to slow the Jaeger's fall. The tactic half-worked, and Thunderbolt was able to shove itself back upright with its remaining arm.

Raijin crashed into the damaged Jaeger, knocking it into the sea. Jill caught a glimpse of Raijin's teeth before Thunderbolt went under, braced Thunderbolt's remaining arm above their heads and the massive bite intended to chew the conn-pod flat closed on Thunderbolt's forearm instead. Raijin raked its claws across the Jaeger's face, shattering the visor like it was made of paper.

Jack and Jill remained calm, knowing that their airtight suits would keep the water out. They continued to resist, trying to pull Thunderbolt's legs to its chest, but Raijin had straddled the fallen Jaeger, pinning it to the seabed.

Raijin's claws thudded into the thick armour of the conn-pod, sending shockwaves through the neural connection. That made the decision for the two pilots. They hit the eject buttons on their console and simultaneously blasted out the top of Thunderbolt's battered head. Raijin continued to claw even as Thunderbolt went limp, tearing the Jaeger apart.

The only Jaeger left, Saber Orion charged with the sword held high. Raijin, engrossed with Thunderbolt Leaguer, didn't seem to notice, but at the last second its massive tail flicked upwards into Saber's face. Hallie and Annie screamed and recoiled.

Raijin turned and lumbered towards them. Saber slashed with the sword and Raijin's armour plates closed up. Saber jabbed uselessly at the thick armour, then lunged onto one knee to spear the point into Raijin's leg.

Raijin bellowed in pain and surged forward. The movement pulled the sword from Hallie and Annie's grasp. Raijin's massive claws caught Saber Orion on the side of its head so hard that it staggered. Raijin's other arm grabbed Saber's shoulder as it tried to twist away.

"Oh, shit!" The conn-pod shook as Raijin landed another heavy blow.

"We have to do something!" Hallie yelled.

"Like what?" Annie yelled back.

Raijin's armour plates opened and it took a big bite out of Saber's forehead. Hallie and Annie screamed as the thick armour protecting the conn-pod gave way. Freezing sea wind blasted them in the face. Hallie and Annie gaped at the sight of Raijin tossing the mouthful of metal aside.

With virtually nothing separating them from the kaiju, the sisters hit the eject pods. Both of them jetted out the back of Saber's head, mere seconds before Raijin took another big bite.

Bobbing several hundred metres away in the relative safety of the sea, Jackson stared up from his capsule as Saber Orion collapsed. Raijin roared its triumph, a crash of sound that blasted across the water like a battle cry. Jackson curled into a ball and wrapped his hands around his ears.

The giant kaiju turned north, its silhouette disappearing below the dark waves. Jackson punched the side of his capsule, sobbing in anguish and grief. Four Jaegers destroyed, more pilots dead, and they had barely slowed the creature down. All the lives lost for nothing.

A chopper hovered to a stop directly above him. A long chain ladder was thrown down.

"Jackson," Jill's voice crackled in his ear. "Come on up. It's over."


End file.
